plainview #8 5/11/05

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Mare's List:
1) public education

Matt's List:
1) working for the man
2) the girl's special day

Links:
Jeff Oestreich Music

she said he said

As if you're actually interested in the plot, Kung Fu Hustle tells the story of a poor slum being invaded by the Axe Gang; when the gang is less successful than anticipated, they start putting the pressure on. Pretty soon we're watching battles between masters and brand new techniques none of us ever knew existed in the world of Kung Fu. Heheh.

This movie has fun with itself. It's utterly ridiculous, but that's what I liked. I still have yet to see Shaolin Soccer, but I'm looking forward to it now that I've seen this movie. I love the way the Axe Gang dances.

My favorite sequence was a faceoff involving battling musicians. All in all, I laughed, I rolled my eyes, and I just enjoyed myself.

Walter E. Williams: How not to be poor

It has been a while since I [ have upset anyone / had anyone freak out on me ] around here, so I thought I would give it a try.

Walter E. Williams gives a meathod on how not to be poor. Beware, it is laden with self-responsibility.

The short version:

1. Graduate from high school
2. Get married before you have children
3. If you are married, stay married
4. Work at any kind of job, even one that starts out paying the minimum wage
5. Avoid engaging in criminal behavior

If you follow these easy to learn simple steps, you can not be poor. All by yourself even!

For those of you in charge of a government, teach these easy to learn simple steps to your youth and wait a generation. The results will astound you.

Please note that is does not apply to all situations, such as people that have already broke some of the rules. It is merely a guide for those who are young and about make the decisions listed in the guide.

Another company has started selling tickets for a sub-orbital space flight. After reading that article I started wondering why they don't just enter an orbit around the earth. That would be a more exciting trip and it would last longer. If you're paying 150,000 dollars, then you don't want the trip to be over in just a few minutes or hours. So I did some research into the difference between orbital and sub-orbital flight. As usual, Wikipedia had a very good article on the subject: Difference between sub-orbital and orbital spaceflights. Turns out that the lateral velocity of the ship is the big difference. Here's an excerpt:

The difference between the lowest speeds required for orbital and sub-orbital space flights is substantial: a spacecraft must reach about 18,000 mph to attain orbit. This compares to the relatively modest 2,500-3,000 mph typically attained for sub-orbital crafts.

The important difference in energy requirements between a sub-orbital spaceflight such as that required for the X Prize and for an orbital spaceflight is that no lateral or angular velocity is required for the sub-orbital flight. The energy required to get to 100 km or even 350 km altitude is dwarfed by the energy required for the necessary lateral velocity of orbital space flight.

In terms of energy: accelerating a spacecraft to orbital speed requires about 31 times as much net energy as just lifting it to a height of 100 km (together 32 times).

I graduate tomorrow. I am so excited. My parents are coming. They are driving three days just to stay one night and drive three days back. So that is kind of neat. Anyways later.

Hey everybody, we're back online!

Brendoman.com was having some serious problems, mostly from pixies and bad blogging programs. Anyway, we have a new program, a new look, and new news. (Is that redundant?)

I found out unequivocally Wednesday that my time on staff at Christian Assembly (CA, our church) will be ending June 10. My position is no longer necessary and they have decided not to hire me for any of the other positions they have available.

For those counting, that's just before I graduate on June 11, which means it's a whole new world for us in just under a month. This comes as a bit of a surprise, and we don't know what we're going to do, where we're going to go, etc. So prayers are warranted and encouraged

I'll try to post some recent pictures in the next couple of days (I've got a good one of me in sack cloth and ashes--classic!).